Belt-buckle



E. N. HUMPHREY.

BELT BUCKLE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.29, 1921.

Patented Aug. 23, 1921.

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PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST ZN". HUMPHREY, OF NEW BRITAIN, CUNNEGTIGU'T.

BEL'I BUCKLE.

Application filed April 539, 19%.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST ll. HUMrrrnnY,

a citizen of the United States of America, residing at New Britain, Connecticut, have invented. a new and useful Belt-Buckle, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a buckle especially adapted to belts, the object being to provide means for effectively gripping belts without injury thereto and for adapting said buckle to belts of varying thicknesses, utilizing the tension of the belt to increase the gripping power of the buckle.

ln the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the rear of the buckle.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section, the buckle being opened.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section, the buckle being closed.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the frame alone.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the clamping member.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the clamping member in modified form.

1 represents the main body which has rearward flanges at its upper and lower edges to form a channel at the back through which the free end of the belt passes and in which it is adjustable to and fro. In the flanges near one end I provide oblique Slots 2-2. 8 represents a lever provided with pivot ends as which stand in said slots and which are preferably headed outside of the flanges. Adjacent to the pivotal portion of the lever, I provide an angular or offset belt gripping flange 5, which grips the belt tightly between its edge and the back of the body when the lever is straightened out. If the gripping action is not sufiiciently tight,

the parts automatically tighten up to grip the belt, inasmuch as the lever may slide 111 the oblique slots under the strain of the belt in a direction to move the belt gripping flange 5 into tighter contact with said belt. To this extent it may be said that the buckle is automatic in its operation. WVhen it is desired to release the belt, the lever 3 is swung back at an angle to the body causing specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 23, 1921.

Serial No. 465,464.

the edge of the belt gripping flange to leave that part of the belt standing in the channel, leaving said end free for adjustment or dis engagr-iment. The opposite end of the belt is suitably fastened to the end of the lever 5 as by a clamp lever 6, or by any other suitable means.

In the modification shown in Fig. 6, I have provided a friction roller 5 at the edge of the belt gripping flange, the surface of which roller may be knurled or otherwise roughened to engage the back of the adjust able end of the belt. Any undue tension on the belt will tend to draw the lever and the roller bodily in a direction to cause the pivot ends to move in the cam slots in a manner to force the belt gripping roller into still more intimate contact with the free end of the belt, so as to prevent slippage. W hen the lever 3 is in the gripping position, the flange 5 will pass the center slightly so that the part 6 will also press against the belt in such a way that the parts will not accidentally become unfastened. It will be seen that the buckle is adapted to take belts of different thickness and hold them all with equal security without injury.

What I claim is:

In a belt buckle, a body having rearwardly extending flanges along its upper and lower edges forming a belt passage be tween them, an oblique slot in each flange near one end thereof, a swinging lever pivotally mounted at one end in said slots and slidable therein, a belt gripping portion on the lever adjacent to the pivotal portion thereof, means for securing one end of a belt to said lever, the other end of the belt being arranged to pass between the body and the belt gripping portion of the lever, whereby when said lever is straightened out the belt gripping portion thereof will grip the belt between it and the back of the body, and whereby tension on the belt will tend to slide the lever bodily in a direction to cause the edges of the oblique slots to move the lever and belt gripping portion thereof into more intimate gripping contact with the belt.

ERNEST N. HUMPHREY. 

